The term “radiation” as used herein refers to any type of ionizing radiation of various energies, including fast neutron radiation.
Radiation detectors are used in medicine, industry, and research for dosimetry, imaging, and homeland security applications. Most radiation detectors are able to detect only specific types of radiation, and at narrow intensity ranges. A dirty bomb can contain any type of radioactive isotope, so there is a need to detect different kinds of ionizing radiation, including fast neutron radiation from fissionable materials, in a single radiation detector. Since the intensity of radiation is inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the source of the radiation, a homeland security radiation detector must also detect a wide range of radiation intensities.
For homeland security purposes, it is impractical to install radiation detectors on every street corner, so there is a need for a small, portable, rugged radiation detector that can travel with many people throughout a community for wide-area scanning.
The present invention solves this need by providing radiation detector that can detect many different types of radiations and intensities while continuing to function when exposed to high levels of radiation, including a small, rugged, pager-like radiation detector.